After filming in the cotton fields, we traveled on to the school in Komadougou. We began a program supporting the school’s cafeteria last year, and with the help of hessnatur customers, we can guarantee about 400 kids a warm lunch. I was really looking forward to the reunion, and Steffi, a first-timer in Burkina Faso, was also quite eager to visit the school.

We arrived by Jeep just before noon. Several students were already at recess and approached us curiously. One extended his hand to Steffi in greeting – and seconds later she was surrounded by children offering their hands.

Shortly thereafter, Daniel and Jeroen unpacked their camera and started filming a lesson in a third grade class. Geography. In addition to the many tribal languages spoken in Burkina Faso, French is also in common use, and we learned along with the kids: How many provinces are in Burkina Faso? How many languages are spoken in the country? What is the name of the capital? The children knew considerably more than we did. Young arms shot up constantly, fingers snapping to give the answer.

At the same time, the parent’s association was meeting in the school yard. They were delighted with our visit and happy at reuniting – I spoke with the parent representatives about the school cafeteria project on my last visit in November, 2009. They are aware of hessnatur’s financial support, with which they can continue to operate the cafeteria. Also important to the parents, however, is that food harvested from the village’s own farms is provided for the cafeteria.

The parents’ feedback after a year of school menus: the quality of the meals has improved enormously, and more and more kids are staying for lunch. A great success! And now the school cafeteria project is ready for the second stage: a well. Currently, water must be brought to the school in canisters. With a well, the students can have fresh drinking water along with their warm lunches.

Additionally, the school principle is planning a mango plantation and a few gardens, where the students can learn farming techniques for various fruits and vegetables right on the school grounds. Considering that so many parents, as well as their children, live from agriculture, this is a crucial subject. And an important step toward a better future.

Tags: Burkina Faso, organic cotton, School

This entry was posted on Monday, November 22nd, 2010 at 5:21 am and is filed under Environment, Material, Projects, Social responsibility. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.